Seniors Champion

David Dombey
 

Born in 1926 David was brought up in Streatham (south London) by parents who were both voluntary social workers, helping the Eastern-European immigrants living in the slum housing of the East End of London to understand how to become British citizens. 

David was evacuated from 1939 to 1944 to Lewes, Sussex with Bec Grammar school, where he was School Vice-Captain and Sergeant Major in the school cadet corps. After WW2 he did National Service as a sergeant in the Intelligence Corps, doing field security duties in Trieste, finishing as staff instructor at the School of Military Intelligence. 

David has been married for 53 years to his wife, Brenda, who is treasurer of the Sutton Forum and two other local charities.  They have three children and four grandchildren. They both belong to a local bridge club.

Although originally trained as a chemist, he spent his whole career as a Factory Manager in various industries (Pipe Tobaccos in Belfast, Coffee processing in London and running several factories around the UK for the London Rubber Co., making household products and propriety medicines.)  David retired in 1989 having been trained as a small business consultant, but was horrified to find, on  approaching the age of 70,  that he could no longer be insured to give business advice. 

Enraged by this ?ageism? attitude he started Sutton Seniors? Forum in 1996 which quickly grew into one of the largest Seniors Forums in London to represent the interests of local Seniors, but also to provide social and cultural activities for the majority of the elderly people, who he found live alone in their own homes and are socially isolated from the rest of the community.

The Forum holds 10 Public meetings annually (attended by 130 - 150 members) and issues each member and affiliated group ten annual editions of a Newsletter. The Forum arranges coach and theatre outings, an eight-week series of talks on a theme, and educational courses. Current Forum membership is 450  individuals and 30 affiliated groups (with an additional 3,000 members) representing 12% of the Sutton Senior population. 

David was personally nominated in 2004 by a Sutton Councillor for the UK award of  ?Public Servant of the Year? and won the Non-Executive category.  In 2006 Sutton?s MP, Paul Burstow, nominated Sutton Seniors? Forum for the  ?Queen?s Award for Voluntary Service? which was duly granted.  This was the first instance of a Senior Forum receiving this prestigious award to recognise excellent service in the community. The Forum can now use the award?s ?crown?emblem with the words ?Unsung Heroes?

Read more about Sutton Forum in our new Community Webs site www.greypower.org.uk/sutton